Challenges and Opportunities – natural trends

The food industry is facing a rapid increase in demand for “all natural” food. Consumers increasingly ask for “clean label” food. Food manufacturers respond by changing ingredient names, changing ingredients altogether, looking for alternatives to satisfy the consumer. But the all natural trend offers not just challenges; for the observant food manufacturer, there are also plenty of opportunities.

Clean label: what exactly do consumers demand?

Within the food industry, clean label is a relatively well-known concept. But it is hard to translate to consumer demands, because most of them do not use the term clean label in the same way producers do. They tend to put clean label on par with “natural”, which means so much as being produced with conventional agriculture, to being minimally processed – which includes not using processes the consumer finds unfamiliar – to being GMO-free. Because of food scares, clean label is also about safety: food that is free-from hidden contaminants such as insecticides or heavy metals. All in all, that means clean label seems to have become a blanket term for “anything that seems healthy and safe”.